Cleaner exhaust gases

Teams from The Netherlands, France and Sweden have studied the structure of the surface of a catalyst used to clean vehicle exhaust gases to understand the process taking place at a molecular level. Palladium catalysts are used to oxidise carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide in vehicle exhausts. Studying their active site is important to improve their efficiency.

Two different oxides form on the catalyst’s surface during carbon monoxide oxidation, depending on the pressure and temperature conditions. The team analysed these oxides and found that the highest carbon dioxide production occurred when an oxide phase was present on the Pd(100) surface.

Read the PCCP in full:
Surface structure and reactivity of Pd(100) during CO oxidation near ambient pressures
R van Rijn, O Balmes, A Resta, D Wermeille, R Westerstrom, J Gustafson, R Felici, E Lundgren and J W M Frenken
Phys. Chem. Phys. Chem., 2011, DOI: 10.1039/c1cp20989b

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PCCP themed issue: Hydrogen Interactions with Diamond

Outside coverPCCP is delighted to present issue 24, which includes a collection of articles on the theme of Hydrogen Interactions with Diamond.

The issue was Guest Edited by John Foord (University of Oxford) and Alon Hoffman (Technion Inst. Israel), and brings important areas of this large body of research together in a single issue, which focuses on the basic physical science which underlies the interaction of hydrogen with diamond materials.

Take a look at this great themed collection on Hydrogen Interactions with Diamond today!

Want to read more about our themed issues? Please visit the ‘Themed Issues’ page on our website.

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PCCP Most-Read Articles for Q1 2011

Top 25 most-read PCCP articles for Q1

Air and water stable ionic liquids in physical chemistry
Frank Endres and Sherif Zein El Abedin
DOI: 10.1039/B600519P

Colloidal metal nanoparticles as a component of designed catalyst
Chun-Jiang Jia and Ferdi Schüth
DOI: 10.1039/C0CP02680H

Titania supported gold nanoparticles as photocatalyst
Ana Primo, Avelino Corma and Hermenegildo García
DOI: 10.1039/C0CP00917B

Density functional theory for transition metals and transition metal chemistry
Christopher J. Cramer and Donald G. Truhlar
DOI: 10.1039/B907148B

Controlled nanostructures for applications in catalysis
Ferdi Schüth
DOI: 10.1039/C1CP90005F

Theory of gold on ceria
Changjun Zhang, Angelos Michaelides and Stephen J. Jenkins
DOI: 10.1039/C0CP01123A

Studying disorder in graphite-based systems by Raman spectroscopy
M. A. Pimenta, G. Dresselhaus, M. S. Dresselhaus, L. G. Cançado, A. Jorio and R. Saito
DOI: 10.1039/B613962K

Towards large-scale, fully ab initio calculations of ionic liquids
Ekaterina I. Izgorodina
DOI: 10.1039/C0CP02315A

Fullerene derivative acceptors for high performance polymer solar cells
Youjun He and Yongfang Li
DOI: 10.1039/C0CP01178A

Catalysis by metal–organic frameworks: fundamentals and opportunities
Marco Ranocchiari and Jeroen Anton van Bokhoven
DOI: 10.1039/C0CP02394A

New nanostructured heterogeneous catalysts with increased selectivity and stability
Ilkeun Lee, Manuel A. Albiter, Qiao Zhang, Jianping Ge, Yadong Yin and Francisco Zaera
DOI: 10.1039/C0CP01688H

Processes in chemical reactions related to the environment, energy and materials sciences
Li-Jun Wan
DOI: 10.1039/C0CP90160A

The role of molecular modeling in confined systems: impact and prospects
Keith E. Gubbins, Ying-Chun Liu, Joshua D. Moore and Jeremy C. Palmer
DOI: 10.1039/C0CP01475C

‘Shape effects’ in metal oxide supported nanoscale gold catalysts
Matthew B. Boucher, Simone Goergen, Nan Yi and Maria Flytzani-Stephanopoulos
DOI: 10.1039/C0CP02009E

Optical imaging of excited-state tautomerization in single molecules
Anna M. Chizhik, Regina Jäger, Alexey I. Chizhik, Sebastian Bär, Hans-Georg Mack, Marcus Sackrow, Catrinel Stanciu, Alexey Lyubimtsev, Michael Hanack and Alfred J. Meixner
DOI: 10.1039/C0CP02228D

CO bond cleavage on supported nano-gold during low temperature oxidation
Albert F. Carley, David J. Morgan, Nianxue Song, M. Wyn Roberts, Stuart H. Taylor, Jonathan K. Bartley, David J. Willock, Kara L. Howard and Graham J. Hutchings
DOI: 10.1039/C0CP01852J

The mystery of gold’s chemical activity: local bonding, morphology and reactivity of atomic oxygen
Thomas A. Baker, Xiaoying Liu and Cynthia M. Friend
DOI: 10.1039/C0CP01514H

Bimetallic Pt–Au nanocatalysts electrochemically deposited on graphene and their electrocatalytic characteristics towards oxygen reduction and methanol oxidation
Yaojuan Hu, Hua Zhang, Ping Wu, Hui Zhang, Bo Zhou and Chenxin Cai
DOI: 10.1039/C0CP01998D

Theoretical investigation of formation mechanism of bipyridyl molecule on Ni(111) surface: implication for synthesis of N-doped graphene from pyridine
Hui Feng, Zhaosheng Qian, Chen Wang, Congcong Chen and Jianrong Chen
DOI: 10.1039/C0CP02441D

Layer-by-layer assembly as a versatile bottom-up nanofabrication technique for exploratory research and realistic application
Katsuhiko Ariga, Jonathan P. Hill and Qingmin Ji
DOI: 10.1039/B700410A

A photo-induced electron transfer study of an organic dye anchored on the surfaces of TiO2 nanotubes and nanoparticles
Marcin Ziółek, Ignacio Tacchini, M. Teresa Martínez, Xichuan Yang, Licheng Sun and Abderrazzak Douhal
DOI: 10.1039/C0CP01898H

Molecular states of water in room temperature ionic liquids
L. Cammarata, S. G. Kazarian, P. A. Salter and T. Welton
DOI: 10.1039/B106900D

Carbon materials for supercapacitor application
Elzbieta Frackowiak
DOI: 10.1039/B618139M

Electronic coherences and vibrational wave-packets in single molecules studied with femtosecond phase-controlled spectroscopy
Richard Hildner, Daan Brinks, Fernando D. Stefani and Niek F. van Hulst
DOI: 10.1039/C0CP02231D

Aspect ratio dependence on surface enhanced Raman scattering using silver and gold nanorod substrates
Christopher J. Orendorff, Latha Gearheart, Nikhil R. Jana and Catherine J. Murphy
DOI: 10.1039/B512573A

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PCCP featured in Materials Today: Super fit enzymes

A PCCP paper on improving enzyme activity using nanoporous materials has featured in Materials Today this week.

The paper by Lung-Ching Sang and Marc-Olivier Coppens discusses how proteins adsorbed in nanoporous silica SBA-15 and propylated C3SBA-15 are perturbed to a different extent, leading to different enzymatic activity.

Read the PCCP paper in full:
Effects of surface curvature and surface chemistry on the structure and activity of proteins adsorbed in nanopores
Lung-Ching Sang and Marc-Olivier Coppens
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2011, 13, 6689-6698
DOI: 10.1039/C0CP02273J

This paper was part of the PCCP themed issue on Materials innovation through interfacial physics and chemistrytake a look at the whole issue today!

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Hot Perspective article: chiral secondary organic aerosol particles from the Amazon

Secondary organic aerosol particles from the central Amazonian Basin are discovered to be chiral in the climate-relevant size range.

chiral aerosols

Read this ‘HOT’ Perspective today:
On molecular chirality within naturally occurring secondary organic aerosol particles from the central Amazon Basin
Imee Su Martinez, Mark D. Peterson, Carlena J. Ebben, Patrick L. Hayes, Paulo Artaxo, Scot T. Martin and Franz M. Geiger
DOI: 10.1039/C1CP20428A

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HOT article: Close-up on salt dissolving in water

Scientists from the UK and Italy have investigated what happens when salt dissolves in water. Using a computer simulation that follows the movement of the sodium and chloride molecules, the studies revealed that a complex multi-step process is triggered by the departure of chloride ions from the salt structure, with a well-defined intermediate state wherein departing ions are partially solvated but remain in contact with the crystal.

Read this paper today! 

Reference:
L-M Liu, A Laio and A Michaelides, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2011
DOI: 10.1039/c1cp21077g

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HOT article: Ionisation enhancement in ammonia

A team from the US has revealed the mechanism in which extreme ionisation of ammonia takes place. Ammonia’s ionisation properties play an important role in many applications ranging from planetary atmospheres to radiation chemistry and in the production of energetic materials.

Read it hot off the press!
Reference:
S G Sayres, M W Ross and A W Castleman Jr, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2011
DOI: 10.1039/c1cp20612e

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Photolytic processing of secondary organic aerosols

High resolution mass spectrometry reveals efficient photolytic processing of secondary organic aerosol dissolved in cloud droplets.

Read the article:

Photolytic processing of secondary organic aerosols dissolved in cloud droplets
Adam P. Bateman, Sergey A. Nizkorodov, Julia Laskin and Alexander Laskin
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2011, DOI: 10.1039/C1CP20526A

MS

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Faraday Discussion 156: Tribology – call for oral abstracts

Faraday Discussion 156: Tribology
2 – 4 April 2012 
Southampton, UK

Deadline for Oral Abstracts: 3 June 2011 – submit now

Tribology is the essential science of all interacting surfaces in relative motion and affects our lives in many direct ways.

Tribology: FD156 will focus on advanced computational and experimental tribology, providing a forum for chemists, physicists, theoreticians, engineers and biomedical researchers within these themes:

  • Future lubricated systems 
  • Smart tribological surfaces 
  • Predictive modelling 
  • Biotribology       

Confirmed invited speakers:

  • Professor Duncan Dowson (Introductory) – University of Leeds, UK
  • Professor Nicholas Spencer (Closing) – ETH Zürich, Switzerland
  • Professor Jean-Michel Martin – Ecole Centrale De Lyon, France
  • Dr Ian Taylor – Shell Global Solutions, UK
  • Professor Jacob Klein – Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel
  • Dr Liliane Léger – NRS & Université Paris-Sud 11, France
  • Professor Pwt Evans – Cardiff University, UK
  • Professor Roland Larsson – Luleå University of Technology, Sweden
  • Professor John Fisher – University of Leeds, UK
  • Professor Greg Sawyer – University of Florida, USA

Faraday Discussions are a long-established series of meetings which provide a unique international platform for the exchange of views and newly acquired results in developing areas of physical chemistry, biophysical chemistry and chemical physics. The Discussion is a dynamic forum for developing and exchanging exciting new ideas, and both the papers and discussion will be published in a final printed volume.

We invite you to submit an abstract for an oral presentation by 3 June 2011. We do hope that this conference is of interest to you and that you will attend this exciting Faraday Discussion next year. 

Submit your oral abstract for Faraday Discussion 156: Tribology

FD156

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Gold: Faraday Discussion 152 – registration deadline fast approaching!

Faraday Discussion 152: Gold
4 – 6 July 2011, Cardiff, UK

Registration deadline: 3 June 2011register today so you don’t miss out on this dynamic conference!

FD152 will focus on the origins of high catalytic activity observed with gold nanoparticles. The aim is to bring together the catalysis and surface science communities with materials scientists and theoreticians, so that new insights can be gained.

Speakers:

  • Professor Masatake Haruta (Introductory) – Tokyo Metropolitan University
  • Professor Martyn Poliakoff (Closing) – University of Nottingham
  • Dr Mathias Brust – University of Liverpool
  • Professor Charlie Campbell – Universityof Washington
  • Professor Cynthia Friend – Harvard University
  • Professor Wayne Goodman – Texas A&M University
  • Professor Peijun Hu – Queen’s University Belfast
  • Professor Laura Prati – Universita degli Studi di Milano
  • Professor Pekka Pyykko – University of Helsinki
  • Professor Vincent Rotello -Universityof Massachusetts Amherst

Themes:

  • Gold catalysis at the gas solid interface
  • Gold catalysis and materials science
  • Theoretical insights on gold catalysis
  • Gold catalysis and enhanced selectivity

Gold

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